Google reveals Australia’s most web-savvy towns

Google has announced Australia’s most web-savvy towns with its second eTown Awards, which celebrate cities and regions whose small businesses make the best use of the web to connect with customers and grow.

Google has announced Australia’s most web-savvy towns with its second eTown Awards, which celebrate cities and regions whose small businesses make the best use of the web to connect with customers and grow.

Australia’s winning eTowns by state and territory are:

Cockburn, WA.

Darwin, NT.

Holdfast Bay, SA.

Launceston, Tasmania.

North Sydney, NSW.

Port Phillip, Victoria.

South Canberra, ACT.

Sunshine Coast, Qld.

One of the above towns will be named the overall winner in the coming weeks.

“Businesses across the country are recognising the online opportunity, from social media that allows direct customer engagement, to websites with e-commerce capabilities where products can be sold to anyone in the world,” Google Australia’s Head of Local Business, Claire Hatton, says. “This web advantage also extends to towns and regions which need no longer rely on a single local resource or industry to prosper. A town’s real assets are now their small businesses owners and employees.”

The link between digital engagement and commercial success was established in a recent Deloitte Access Economics, which found that Aussie small businesses with high digital engagement are twice as likely to be growing revenue, and earn twice as much revenue per employee. They are also four times more likely to be hiring additional staff, Deloitte says.

“The location of your shop front or size of your workforce doesn’t matter online,” Hatton continues. “Every business has the opportunity to engage customers and grow. Whether you’re a boutique hotel, beautician or surf school, if you’re not online you’re missing out on a direct line to thousands of potential customers.”

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